All For Our Country
by Apesshipper
Summary: Two White House staffers risk everything to protect the president. JoshDonna, implied SamAinsley
1. Chapter One

Name: April

Title: All For Our Country

Subject: Drama/Angst/Romance, J/D, inferred S/A, PG

Author's Acknowledgement: Fire and Rain is a song by James Taylor.  I do not own it or the WW characters.

Josh Lyman sat at home in his recliner, nursing a glass of scotch, listening to the old station that they'd used to listen to at work, when everyone else had gone home at it was just him and Donna…and sometimes Sam.  He could see her, smiling at his antics, sitting on his desk and listening when he'd had a bad day, her eyes always making him feel as if he was the only person in the room.  He remembered the first time he'd seen her, before Bartlet had even been elected, going through his papers, answering his phone, before she'd even been hired.  She'd lied to him, but she'd worked so hard to convince him that he had to agree.  Something about her drew him close to her like a moth to a flame and from that second on, they'd been inseparable.  Sometime over the years they'd been together, he'd done the unthinkable and actually fallen in love.  Everyone knew it, even Donna herself, but as hard as he'd tried, he'd never been able to do anything about it.  He'd been out to breakfast with Sam when he'd lost her, the third person in his life that he'd loved and lost.  He'd lost his sister in a fire, his father during the first Bartlet campaign, and now Donna…He should have been there with her, should have protected her.  She always protected him and even if she hadn't been able to protect him from the shooting a few years earlier, she hadn't left his side until he could make it on his own…so why had she now?  He could see, through the curtains, that he'd spent another sleepless night sitting up, waiting for the phone call that might never come.  He'd been ordered not to come back to work until he could deal with what was happening and he felt stuck in limbo.  He couldn't ever go back to the time when she was with him and he couldn't go forward without her.  Seconds stretched into minutes into hours into days…he just sat there and drank.

_Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone Suzanne the plans they made put an end to you.  I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song; I just can't remember who to send it to.  I've seen fire and I've seen rain, I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end, I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought that I'd see you again.  Won't you look down upon me Jesus you gotta help me make a stand, you just got to see me through another day.  My body's achin and my time is at hand, I won't make it any other way.  I've seen fire and I've seen rain, I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end, I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought that I'd see you again.  Been walking my mind to an easy time, my back turned towards the sun, Lord knows when the cold wind blows it'll turn your head around.  Well, there's hours of time on the telephone line, to talk about things to come, sweet dreams and fine machines in pieces on the ground.  Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain, I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end, I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought that I'd see you baby one more time again.  Thought I'd see you one more time again.  There's just a few things comin' my way around.  Thought I'd see, thought I'd see you…_

The phone rang and he reached over to pick it up, not expecting but always hoping that it would be news about Donna.  "Lyman…"

"It's me."  Sam Seaborn spoke, indicating for his secretary to shut his door.  "Anything?"

"Nothing.  What about there?"

"We're doing everything we can.  So's the White House.  From what Ainsley tells me, that's one of the biggest things going this morning."

Josh took a deep breath.  "She was wrong."

Sam was puzzled.  "Who?  About what?"

"Donna said once that if anything ever happened to her, she'd be an also-dead, like she really didn't matter."  He couldn't imagine Donna not mattering.  She was the most important person in his life.

"Well, she's not an also-dead.  She's got a senator and the whole White House staff looking for her and we're going to find her, I promise."

"I just…I don't understand what happened.  If it really was a kidnapping, don't you think they would have grabbed one of the girls again or Abbey or even Mallory?  Taking Donna doesn't make any sense.  And the timing totally sucks."  He'd broken up with his girlfriend only two weeks ago but hadn't quite gotten up the nerve to ask Donna out yet, one of the main topics at his breakfast with Sam that morning.

"Don't worry, okay?  And let off the liquor cabinet.  Go see Leo, come up here…has anyone called her family?"

"Yeah.  Her mom wants me to call when she's found, but basically I'm on my own.  Although Mom wanted to come stay with me."  It amazed and saddened him how his mom cared more about Donna than her own.

"And you said no?"

"Well, at the time, I was halfway into a bottle of scotch.  I didn't think it was a good idea."

Sam frowned.  "What happened to that diet Donna put you on?  I don't recall liquor being a big part of it.  When is the last time you ate?"

Josh had to think about it for a little while.  "Breakfast with you."  He remembered criticizing the diet Donna had him sticking to in order to lower his blood pressure.  Then the call came.

"Eat.  Shower.  Drink some coffee and sober up.  When she comes back and finds you like this, she's going to kick your ass.  And turn down the radio; I can hear it over here."  It was as if Josh couldn't take care of himself without Donna anymore and Sam barely had enough hours in the day for his job, plus trying to find Donna for his friend, taking care of Josh was totally out of the question.  There was a knock on the door.  "I gotta go.  Listen, I'll call you back in a few hours, okay?"

Josh nodded.  "Okay."  He hung up the phone and sat there, still not moving.

*****  
  
A few hours later, the phone did ring, but when Josh picked it up, it wasn't Sam.  "It's me.  Get up here."  Leo barked after Josh answered.

"What's going on?"  Somehow he didn't think it was the news he wanted to hear.  "Where's here?"

"Bartlet got shot at again this morning."

Josh woke up a little.  "What?  Is everyone okay?"

"An agent was killed, but everyone else is okay.  We're at the White House."

"With all due respect, Leo…"

"Cut the crap.  Just say it."

Josh sighed.  "Why do you need me there?"

"BECAUSE WE DO!!!"  Leo paused.  "We're strategizing and with everything else, we need everyone in here.  Shower, shave, eat, sober up.  Get here in an hour."  Josh nodded, afraid to ask what he really wanted to know.  "Don't worry.  We're still looking for Donna too."  Leo knew, everyone knew, that Donna wasn't just a secretary like the others.  She'd become important, not only to Josh, but to the staff as well.

"Thanks, Leo."  He hung up and showered, trying to clear his head.

  
He arrived exactly an hour later, showered, shaved, and with enough coffee in him to fuel a South American revolution.  If he wasn't completely sober, he wasn't drunk either.  "What happened?"

Toby Ziegler met him at his office.  "Stepped off Air Force One, with Charlie and Leo, two bullets missed them and hit one of the agents.  He died at the scene."  He noticed Josh staring at Donna's desk.  "You with me?"

"Um, yeah.  Everyone else is okay?"

Toby nodded.  "The president's in the residence with Abbey, Charlie, Zoey, and agents.  C.J.'s talking to the press and I'm to escort you to Leo's office as soon as she got here.  They're looking for the shooter now; they got a good look at him, supposedly."

"So what are we doing here?"

"Writing two speeches, a funeral speech and one he'll give in a few hours."  He paused.  "Did they find anything yet?"

"No.  Nothing."  He looked away from Donna's desk.  "Let's go."  He walked a little bit before asking.  "Don't you think it's fishy that the deputy deputy disappears the same week as the president gets shot at?"

"Deputy deputy?"  He smiled, but didn't ask.  "Maybe.  But I wouldn't get that out.   It would sound like…"

"She came into the waiting room, frantic and almost in tears because Bartlet was shot.  I was still in surgery and Donna was trying to do both my job and hers.  Don't give me that crap.  She loves this as much as we all do.  She would never, ever…"

"I know that.  I'm just telling you what it sounds like."  He paused.  "Are you okay?"

"It's been snowing for days; it's stuck to the ground, cold outside.  And I don't know where she is."

"Are you going to be able to handle this?"

"I don't have a choice."

*****  
  
Josiah Bartlet made his way to Leo's office about an hour before sunrise.  All three men were still at it, although the mood was still and solemn, almost like a heavy thunderstorm had settled over the office.  "They caught the shooter."

The three men all looked up.  "Jed."

"They caught the shooter.  One of the rooms was locked; they had to break down the door."  He indicated for Leo and Toby to leave; they nodded and did so.  Jed sat beside Josh.  "One of the rooms was locked.  When they opened it, a woman was lying on the floor."

Josh looked up at him.  "It was Donna."

Jed nodded.  "Abbey's on her way to see if she can help.  I've arranged for a car to take you to the hospital and I'll come with you if you want."

"You have a press conference."

"I'll postpone it."

"Thank you, sir, but no."

Jed nodded as both men stood.  "I'll be by afterwards then.  The car's waiting out front."

"Thank you, sir."

Leo watched as Josh walked away.  He looked at Jed.  "They found her?"

Jed nodded.  "Locked in one of the rooms.  From the report I got, she's not doing well.  Abbey's on her way to try to help and I had a car drive him to the hospital."

Leo nodded, picking up the phone.  "I'll call Sam.  He'll want to know."

*****  
  
The first lady, Abbey Bartlet, met Josh at the hospital.  "Jed told you."  Josh nodded, although it wasn't a question.  "I've talked to her doctors.  She's severely dehydrated, hasn't eaten in days, and is beaten.  She was in shock when she arrived and she had a seizure.  Low blood pressure, rapid heart rate.  They put her on an IV.  She's still unconscious, but you have permission to stay with her, during and after visiting hours."

Sam ran up to his friend, but stopped when he saw Abbey there.  "Thank you."  Josh finally managed to say.

"I promise we'll find out why they hurt her."  Josh nodded and thanked her again before she left.

"What'd she say?"

"Severely dehydrated, hasn't eaten in days, they beat her up, shock, seizure, low blood pressure, rapid heart rate, IV, and she's still unconscious."

"My God…" Sam closed his eyes.  "Do you want me to stay with you?  I cleared a few hours from my calendar."

Josh nodded.  "Just until she wakes up."  Sam nodded.

They made their way to Donna's room and Josh stood there for a few minutes, feeling angry, hurt, and terrified.  She was pale, bruised, and her eyes were sunken.  He found his way to the chair and sat beside the bed, holding her hand.  What was usually so soft and gentle seemed small and dry, like it wasn't really her at all.  "Hey.  It's me.  Told you I'd be here.  Sam's here too.  I'll see you when you wake up, okay?  I'm gonna be right here."

"Um, I'll go pick you up some clothes, a book, some files…"

"After…after that week she almost lived at the office or hospital, she keeps a bag there now."

Sam nodded, not knowing quite what to say as he watched his friend gently hold Donna's hand.  "I'll get it."

"Thanks."

*****  
  
C.J. Cregg stormed into Leo's open doorway.  "Anyone mind telling me why I was just blindsided?"

"What are you talking about now?"  Leo barked back, in a good mood to argue with someone, anyone.

"Someone just asked why one of our missing staffers was found when they arrested the shooter."

Wearing a visitor's pass, Sam stuck his head in his door.  "No one can say.  Donna's still unconscious and the shooter's not talking yet."

C.J. almost smiled.  "Senator."

Toby looked up at Sam.  "How bad is she?"

"Well, she's not going to die, but she almost did.  Josh is with her.  Leo, I'm gonna take some of the less sensitive files to him.  Is there anything you can think of?"

"Tell him to work on the funeral speech."  He handed over a few files.  "I'll be over tonight before I go home."

"Come back more often," C.J. retorted as Sam left.  She looked back at Leo.  "So what do I say?"

"We're not sure what happened, but we're sure of her allegiance to the President and everyone is trying their best to make sure that she has a speedy recovery.  The White House supports her 100%."

"Is this real support or is this the support I'm giving while someone's trying to fire her?"  Leo didn't answer.

"Fine."  C.J. left much the way she came in.

Toby looked at Leo.  "I'm going to see what I can find out about the shooter."  He left the office too, leaving Leo alone.


	2. Chapter Two

"How is she?"  The voice from the doorway caused Josh to jump.  It was after visiting hours, so it was quiet.  The president had come by a few hours before, Toby had wandered by, C.J. had called, and Sam and Ainsley had sat with him for a few hours.  He turned to see Leo in the doorway.

"She lost ten pounds, still dehydrated, beaten, had another seizure before they managed to get her blood pressure and heart rate back under control.  Hasn't regained consciousness yet."

Leo frowned.  "Margaret wants to come by and sit with her if you need to shower or eat."

Josh nodded.  "The report's gotten better during the last couple of hours, so maybe she'll wake up soon.  I'm not gonna be away from her…but thank Margaret anyway."  Leo nodded and Josh handed him two files.  "I'm still working on the speech.  Is there anything I need to come into the office for?"

Leo shook his head.  "We're managing."

"Did you decide yet?"

Leo frowned.  "Decide what?"

"Whether she's going to get fired or not."

Leo frowned, sitting in the other chair Josh had brought in for visitors.  "We haven't decided anything yet."

"But it is a possibility."

"Right now, everything's a possibility.  But we want to make absolutely sure of what happened before we make any assumptions."

"But the appearance of impropriety…"

"We're going to do whatever we can to be fair by Donna, but our first duty is always to the President…and so should yours be."  An awkward silence fell between the two friends and Leo left.

"Don't listen to him, okay?  I know you better.  I'm not gonna let you go without a fight."  He brushed some more hair out of her face.  "Just rest."  He wasn't sure how he was going to do it, but he couldn't function, in or out of work, without Donna and he wasn't going to let anyone, from her captors to Leo, take her away from him.

*****  
  
He woke up and, just like every morning for three months, she was sitting there, asleep in the chair next to his bed.  She had a baby blue button-down shirt on, so worn that it was as soft as a t-shirt, the top two buttons unbuttoned, falling down to her lower thigh, but leaving the rest of her leg bare.  He'd tried every night to get her to take the bed or, failing that, the couch, but each morning he woke up with her next to him, holding his hand.  The nightmares, what he'd later found out was part of the PTSD, woke him every night and, every night, she'd held him in her arms until he went back to sleep, talking softly to him, comforting him.  He remembered in the hospital, when he woke up, the President, Leo, Toby, and Sam had all been with him, but Donna had been right outside the room, staring though the window, and crying.  Her tears had broken his heart and that's when he'd finally been able to admit to himself that he loved her.  He'd even dreamed about her during the surgery.  Other times, when she thought he wasn't looking, he'd catch her staring at him, like she was so afraid something else would happen to him.  He wanted to reassure her that he was going to be all right, but knew that nothing he said or did could help her with that, so when she'd set the rules, he'd followed them to the letter…anything to make her happy, to make her smile.  Those three months living with her had almost made getting shot worth while and he knew that there was no way he could have made it through without her.  She was a part of him, the best part.

*****  
  
Sam walked into the hospital room the next morning and gently woke Josh up.  "How's she doing?"

"Holding on.  A little better."  He was surprised that none of the nurses had waked him up during the night.

"Toby called me an hour ago."  He paused.  "The shooter confessed."

"To the assassination attempt?"

Sam nodded.  "Evidently, Donna intercepted a fax to your office that was supposed to go to another number."

"How did that happen?"

"As near as anyone can figure out, the numbers were transposed.  Anyway, it had some details about the assassination attempt.  She faxed it to the Secret Service office."

"Why didn't the president know about it then?"

"Crossed wires.  She had already sent it when they came to the office, looking for it.  When she left that night, they grabbed her.  She wouldn't tell them what she'd done with it until they'd beaten her for a few hours.  After that, they couldn't let her loose to tell what had happened…they had…they had to kill her."

"So they left her there alone in the cold to starve to death."  Josh's voice trembled.

"Yeah.  I'm sorry."

"At least Leo won't fire her now."

Sam nodded.  "You remember that friend of hers, with the father?"

Josh nodded.  "Stephanie.  Yeah, I remember."

"When I found out about her grandfather, I asked Donna if she understood what the last full measure of fidelity and devotion meant."  Josh nodded.  He knew Donna knew those things very well.  Not only was she the most loyal person he knew, but she loved, with all her heart.  She was so gullible that most men took advantage of her, which was why she ended up with losers.  "I guess I better go."  Josh nodded.  He had his speech.


End file.
